Department of Anthropology

Anthropology student works on an excavation at the Vernon campus while overlooking Kal Lake

Anthropology is the integrated study of humanity – all aspects of humans in all places around the world and in all times, from the Arctic tundra to the equatorial jungles, from our earliest origins to contemporary peoples. Anthropology seeks to answer the question: what makes us human?

Associate of Arts, Emphasis in Cross-Cultural Studies

Diploma in International Development

Courses

Anthropology offers first- and second-year courses in each of the four sub-disciplines in the field of study: archaeology, biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and cultural anthropology.

Faculty

Dr. Leanne Mallory

Anthropology - Chair
Office: B Building 125
Campus: Kelowna
Phone: 250-762-5445 ext. 4295
Anthropology instructor Leanne Mallory

In 2001, I began teaching at Okanagan University College in Kelowna. The courses I currently teach are primarily in the areas of archaeology and linguistics, although I have taught geochemistry and petrology courses in the past. My research areas are wide ranging and eclectic, but almost all incorporate the recognition and explanation of patterns in data, for example, in artefact distributions or the trace element composition of volcanic rock samples from the Earth, moon, and Mars. Other projects have fingerprinted wines or investigated Iron Age mining techniques in Egypt and Yemen. Outside of the classroom, I am a competitive fencer.

Credentials:
PhD, Geology and Near Eastern Archaeology and Languages, University of Toronto
MA, Near Eastern Archaeology, University of Toronto
BA (Hons), Anthropology and Near Eastern Studies, University of Toronto
BA, Anthropology, University of Toronto

Research Gate Profile

Amy Cohen

Anthropology
Office: Main Building C321
Campus: Vernon
Phone: 250-762-5445 ext. 6302
Cohen, Amy

I am an anthropologist, researcher, activist, mother, lifelong learner, and teacher. I graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master of Arts in Socio-Political Anthropology in 2009. Since moving back to the Okanagan, I have been active in the migrant justice movement, both as a researcher and community activist. I am currently part of an interdisciplinary team of researchers on an ethnoarchaeological project in Saltillo, Mexico. This project will consider the social and cultural experiences of war and conflict on a people’s identity and historical memory from the time of the Mexican-American war to the present day. I have authored and co-authored a number of publications on migrant agricultural issues and have carried out ethnographic research on migrant agricultural workers' resistance, reproductive justice, and their networks of support. I have been teaching at Okanagan College's Vernon and Salmon Arm campuses since 2013.
 

Credentials:
MA, Anthropology, University of Toronto

Google Scholar Profile

Dr. Flannery Surette

Anthropology/Archaeology
Office: B Building 233
Campus: Kelowna
Phone: 250-762-5445 ext. 4452
Anthropology instructor Flannery Surette

I joined Okanagan College in Fall 2019 and teach introductory archaeology, biological anthropology and cultural anthropology. I specialize in the archaeology of the Peruvian Andes where I study the development of weaving and spinning and other fibre technologies, the formation of identities in early Andean states and the transmission of this knowledge over time. I am also interested in the anthropology of art, contemporary fibre artisans, experimental archaeology and the development of pedagogical materials for anthropology. In my free time, I am a weaver and spinner and a member of the Ponderosa Spinners, Weavers and Fibre Artists Guild of Kelowna, BC.

Credentials:
PhD, Anthropology, The University of Western Ontario
MA, Anthropology, Trent University
BA, Anthropology and Religious Studies, Saint Mary's University

Academia Profile

Google Scholar Profile

Dr. (Jeff) Joseph Werner

Distance Ed/On-line Programs
Office: Portable 1 100
Campus: Kelowna
Phone: 250-762-5445 ext. 2341
Werner, Jeff Joseph

My specialties are Stone Age archaeology, human evolution, and experimental archaeology. My current research focuses on southern Tanzania where our early human ancestors have lived for millions of years. I also replicate Stone Age technology to investigate questions related to Stone Age subsistence and the creation of some of the world’s first art in the form of ostrich eggshell beads. I am affiliated with the Iringa Region Archaeology Project (IRAP) and the Culture Heritage in Iringa Region Project (CHIRP). Outside of my scholarly activities, I am a lifelong fan of heavy metal music, a musician, an avid player and designer of games, and a stone tool maker.

Credentials:
PhD, Anthropology, University of Alberta
MA, Anthropology, University of Alberta
BA, Archaeology/Geography, University of Lethbridge

https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=3o-VCzAAAAAJ

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